VIDEO NES & SNES Classic Editions

As stock numbers eventually even out, the price should go down. They were in high demand with low stock over the holidays but I believe Nintendo is increasing production to meet the demand, last i read.

 

They would have to include a wiimote in order to play that (since a zapper light gun of any scale wouldn't work on a modern TV) and they wouldn't include one for just a single game.

And, honestly, that game's wiimote version is waaaaaaay too easy and not worth paying an extra $20 for the controller.

 

SNES Classic Edition Announced

And while that announcement was expected, the game list has some incredible surprises:

1) It includes Super FX Chip titles like Star Fox and Yoshi's Island (which have never been officially emulated before)

and, 2) IT INCLUDES STAR FOX 2!!! That game was finished but never released due to the N64 and shifting development to SF64 (and included things such as All-Range Mode and the walker mode not implemented until SFZ). There was a ROM floating around the net for decades of this game but even that is of an unfinished build lacking key gameplay features.

It also includes two controllers. Here's the full list:

• Contra III: The Alien Wars
• Donkey Kong Country
• EarthBound
• Final Fantasy III
• F-ZERO
• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby's Dream Course
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Mega Man X
• Secret of Mana
• Star Fox
• Star Fox 2
• Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
• Super Castlevania IV
• Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
• Super Mario Kart
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
• Super Mario World
• Super Metroid
• Super Punch-Out!!
• Yoshi's Island

Nintendo's page for it.

 

One can hope that, after learning from the NES Classic supply issues, when combined with both the costs involved in emulating the SFX chip and porting an unreleased retro title, that this one will be a little but more pleasant of an experience.

 

Well, at the very least, only so much as to plan for at least the "double run" of the NES Classic from the outset, if not more.

 

You don't have the SNES Yoshi's Island or Star Fox 1 on VC.

As for SF2, it's hard to say if it will release separately- Super FX Chip games have not been released on any Virtual Console emulator so far. Up until now it was believed that this was due to Argonaut retaining the rights to the technology and that Nintendo was waiting for the patent to expire before releasing them (and that their inclusion in this Classic release suggests that that has occured).

However, in reaction to this release, Argonaut's founder revealed that Nintendo has always owned the patent to the SFX Chip. So, that surprise revelation suggests it was a technological limitation in the emulators being used for the existing VC platforms (as is somewhat obvious, the VC emulators aren't exactly perfect, though most audio/visual issues i've encountered have been with NES games) that prevented those games from being released. And Nintendo will not use 3rd party emulators (which is why Super Metroid was removed as an unlockable bonus in Metroid Prime 1 on GCN, as they had no SNES emulator at the time).

So, if whatever limitation has now been overcome by this console, it's possible we could see them come to VC now. But on the other hand, we haven't heard any news on the VC for Switch yet and they're unlikely to invest in significantly upgrading the Wii U's VC technology and I'm not sure they'd do so for the 3DS (or, more likely, the N3DS) either.

It could end up being a part of the supposed subscription service rumored to be in the Switch's future. But, barring a Switch VC platform being established, the only way to truly own SF2 will seemingly be the SNES Classic.

 

True, but the trade-off in terms of quality is the main concern. Playing the original quality version of what is technically still a main series Mario game is a nice bonus.

 

US pre-orders for the SNESC are on the near horizon now. Walmart's went up (and sold out) friday night fast and Gamestop has a sign-up page to get alerts on it. Target has also announced that they will be taking pre-orders for the SNESC too.

Apparently, though, the Walmart pre-orders went live by accident, so a lot of them are being cancelled, so keep that in mind moving forward.

 

Pre-orders confirmed for "late this month":

"We appreciate the incredible anticipation that exists for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System: Super NES Classic Edition system, and can confirm that it will be made available for pre-order by various retailers late this month.

A significant amount of additional systems will be shipped to stores for launch day, and throughout the balance of the calendar year."